Purpose

To consolidate, disseminate, and gather information concerning the 710 expansion into our San Rafael neighborhood and into our surrounding neighborhoods. If you have an item that you would like posted on this blog, please e-mail the item to Peggy Drouet at pdrouet@earthlink.net

Friday, September 27, 2013

A Multimedia Project Designed to Humanize the Public Bus Driver

The city bus driver doesn't get as much of our empathy as he or she probably should. The health hazards that come with the job are enormous. The risk of being attacked
by angry riders — especially lately — is equally frightening. Too often
bus drivers seem to personify the most exhausting and frustrating
aspects of urban life.

So it's refreshing to see a new multimedia project, "Driving Richmond,"
celebrating the bus driver as an actual person. This collection of
stark portraits and often-poignant vignettes of 15 drivers from the
Greater Richmond Transit Company reminds us that they, too, have a human
story to share. The project showed at a street-art festival held at an
old bus depot earlier this month and now lives online.
"Many people see the bus driver as just a component of a bus and not
this figure that has a passion, if you will, for driving a bus," says
Vaughn Whitney Garland, a doctoral student at Virginia Commonwealth
University who curated the project. "So it was kind of amazing to see
this work, this documentation, bring that awareness to people."

Garland hopes the series not only presents Richmond bus drivers in a
more personal light but also raises public interest about the poor state
of the city's transit system. Until recently, the city council rather
than the transit authority had control of the bus system — resulting in a number of route inefficiencies. Garland says his five-minute bike commute would take nearly an hour by bus.

"For me, if we could make a successful public transit system, then it
really helps out the growth and vitality of the city," he says. "It
brings jobs. It brings people down into the city center. It makes the
city stronger. I think we've kind of lost that over the years, when we
do these massive sprawls out to the country."

We've included five pictures and excerpts from the oral histories below, but the whole exhibition is highly recommended. In addition to Garland, the "Driving Richmond" collaboration involved photographer Michael Lease (who took the portraits), University of Richmond professor Laura Browder (who conducted the interviews), and artist Benjamin Thorp (who created audio portraits).

BRUCE KORUSEK

Michael Lease, "Bruce Korusek," 2013

I took my first bus picture when I was five. My mother and I'd been to
Byrd Park and we were walking by the bus garage. I said, 'can I take a
picture of those buses?' and, you know, she gave me the camera and I
took the picture. And I still have the picture.

DEBORAH HOPKINS

Michael Lease, "Deborah Hopkins," 2013

You’re like a doctor, lawyer, psychiatrist, minister. You do all these
things because people need someone to talk to. It’s a very good career
if you are people-oriented. If you don’t have the patience of Job,
you’re not gonna make it.

ROBERT SCOTT

Michael Lease, "Robert Scott," 2013

Some time they be running up to catch the bus, I’ll wait for them. You
know. But I had to get used to that. Because here people will say,
‘hey, somebody’s coming!’ I wasn’t used to that. Because in New York and
New Jersey, it’s almost 24/7. You know, catch the next one, somebody’s
following behind you. Here it’s more personal.

MARCIA SCHMIEGELOW

Michael Lease, "Marcia Schmiegelow," 2013

The attacks on drivers have increased so much. It’s becoming more and
more dangerous out there. Nationwide, passengers are attacking drivers.
And that’s why the unions nationwide are fighting to have more
convictions on people that attack drivers. There need to be heavier laws
on that.

MARSHALL AVENT

Michael Lease, "Marshall Avent," 2013

When I came here, it was predominantly white and that was the way of
the world. I came in ‘73. I’m told that when African Americans first
started driving the buses that white folks used to call the police on
them. Said they stole the bus.